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I believe that 100psi at 180°F is the standard T&P rating according to ASTM F877 for SDR 9 PEX tubing. Pressure ratings at lower temperatures vary a bit amongst manufacturers so I would expect to see ~140-160psi ratings at ~74°F.

billybob and cartercraft, that is known as PEX AL PEX.
I was told the aluminum is an oxygen shield. I used the stuff for my in floor (hydronic) heat system.
In about a month I'll be damn glad there is aluminum in it, I made open places for an above ground hoist to anchor to the floor, and didn't take as good of measurements and didn't draw it up as good as I should have, but I can find it with a metal detector, or one of them new fangled Milwaukee 12v "find hidden shit under there" tool thingie.
I still think I'm going to run black pipe, and take the drops off the top of the pipe,,,,,,,,,,,,
I'm in the same boat as Todd W, wish that shit would install itself!

Household PEX has a standard SDR (9) so the wall thickness varies with diameter to maintain the same pressure rating on different diameters of tubing. Then again 100psi @ 180°F is a code minimum so ratings exceeding the minimum requirements should not be an issue.

Has anyone used their bender to run the black pipe instead of using threaded on elbows and couplers? I thought about using the bender, and welding on the fittings instead of fighting with threading and doping the connections.

Household PEX has a standard SDR (9) so the wall thickness varies with diameter to maintain the same pressure rating on different diameters of tubing. Then again 100psi @ 180°F is a code minimum so ratings exceeding the minimum requirements should not be an issue.

I have no idea what this stuff really is, or what it's true application is. I was given a huge roll of it after a friend had hydronic heat installed in his garage. Knowing him, it is some exotic industrial heating system tubing (he works in the commercial baking industry).

One characteristic of PEX tubing that hasn't been addressed is its incredible expansion capability. I'm told it has the ability to expand to more than 2.5X its original size. I can't imagine this application ever exceeding such a specification.

If it's made to withstand the freezing of the water contained inside without bursting, I tend to think it can withstand compressed air at shop pressures (mine only runs about 100 PSI and that's plenty for my needs so far.

The pex should have no issue withstanding the pressure, seeing how when I did plumbing we would pressurize the homes water lines to 90-100psi to check for leaks. I would not recommend using "shark bite" style fittings seeing they are not cheap. Go with the standard brass crimp rings they were $.18 each a few years ago and the brass fittings were cheap also. Dont waste your time with the stainless adjustable crimp rings they are a PITA. Also to save a few bucks there are plastic fittings available but in a shop environment I would use brass.

And the pex does expand and not burst when the water freezes I dont know about 2.5X but it does expand a considerable amount.

Has anyone used their bender to run the black pipe instead of using threaded on elbows and couplers? I thought about using the bender, and welding on the fittings instead of fighting with threading and doping the connections.

Socket weld fittings for small bore piping are easy to work with and reasonably cheap.

I ran a hybrid system of PEX, copper, and rubber in my shop. Rubber anywhere it could flex, copper for the main upright/distribution manifold, and PEX for the runs and drops. After some research I found it is rated at 180PSI HYDRAULIC (apparently hydraulic pressure ratings are different becasue of the hammer effect). This translates to roughly 300PSI, so I think I am good at 125PSI for my shop air. No issues or leaks in the PEX, but every time the temperature drops my rubber hose couplings leak!

For those that have used PEX, how do you connect the air fittings/couplings to the PEX lines?
I'd like to use the PEX for my garage, it's 26' x 28' and I would like to have 4 drops with quick-disconnect fittings at waist level.
Can the crimp rings for the PEX hold the NPT fittings?

For those that have used PEX, how do you connect the air fittings/couplings to the PEX lines?
I'd like to use the PEX for my garage, it's 26' x 28' and I would like to have 4 drops with quick-disconnect fittings at waist level.
Can the crimp rings for the PEX hold the NPT fittings?

Why don't you just use the pex/NPT adapter fittings? That's what they're made for.

ive head 3/4 pex in my shop for almost two years no issues. as stated before i did the install when it was cold and the coil sat in the bed of my truck for a while so it was a bitch to get straight. was about a 2ft dia coil.
i think i spent 200-300 and got the crimping tool and 200 ft of line and a bunch of connectors.

not sure if it is to be used for pex or not but i found these 90* slip on corners. (no idea of the name or the brand) but they allow you to bend the stuff at a nice 90 and throw a zip tie on each side. looked attractive in the store but was more of a pain in the ass. i should have just crimped in a 90 or any where i had to go around something i should have put in a T and capped the bottom so i can latter add a drop if need be.

When you guys are saying black pipe what is it that your talking about? the pipe you see your gas run in for your house which seems to have a pretty heavy wall. could i just use a sch10 or 40 2" pipe. I use that size all the time and buy it by the bundle and get a great price on it.

When i build a new shop id like to use some form of black pipe just to have more CF of air storage.

I've never actually worked with or bought the PEX products, I just appreciate the ease and speed of install over copper pipe. At this point I'm completely ignorant of what attachments are available for the PEX lines and fittings etc.

So another newbie question - for running air in your garage/shop, do you plumb one line from the compressor to a manifold and then plumb your runs from there?

I used the rapid air kit from northern. I almost used PEX in my shop until I added up the cost between it and the rapid air kit. The fittings seem cheap/weak and I had to buy a couple extra manifolds that I felt were over priced but in in the two years or so that the system has been installed I've had zero problems or leaks. Manifolds work great to drain moisture and were easy to install. Only advice I would give is install in the summer or some how warm the tubing because it is stiff and a pain to run when cool.

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